Saquon Barkley's father claimed family needed pink gun found in car 'because of who my son is': court documents

Metro

By Larry Celona And Amanda Wood

The father of Philadelphia Eagles superstar Saquon Barkley – who was allegedly caught with a loaded pink pistol hidden in his Corvette while driving in the Bronx – claimed the family needed the gun “for reasons security because of my son’s identity,” new court documents reveal.

Alibay Barkley, 55, was arrested Wednesday evening for covered license plates at East 140th Street and Third Avenue in Mott Haven, according to a complaint filed in Bronx Criminal Court.

An officer looked in the center console of Barkley's 2018 Chevrolet Corvette and found the pink model SSCY firearm – with eight live rounds in the magazine, according to court documents.

“That’s my wife’s gun,” Barkley, who lives in Whitehall, Pa., allegedly told the cop.

“We keep it for safety reasons because of who my son is and because we come back to the Bronx often.”

Cops initially conducted the stop because Barkley was driving with obstructed license plates that didn't match the vehicle — which was not registered, authorities said.

Investigators also found that Barkley did not have a New York State license or permit to carry the weapon and ammunition, according to court records.

Barkley was hit with five charges related to weapons possession, in addition to ammunition possession, according to the complaint.

Police also charged him with offenses of driving an unregistered vehicle, possessing a dirty or covered plate and using improper plates – although these charges were not included in the court document.

A judge ordered Barkley – who has had previous run-ins with the law – held on $15,000 bail.

It is unknown if anyone else was inside the car at the time of the traffic stop.

Barkley's arrest history includes a gun charge that landed him at Rikers Island for a year when he was just 19, Saquon told LancasterOnline in 2018.

This conviction prompted Saquon's mother, Tonya Johnson, to move her young family from the Bronx to Pennsylvania for a fresh start.

Alibay Barkley followed his family to Pennsylvania after his release, avoiding the law until 2016, when he was arrested and Tased for refusing to get off an Allentown bus after the driver charged him for having circumvented its tariff.

He then sued the police department and bus company for discrimination and the case was settled in 2018 for $45,000.

“My father has been through a lot. He made it a big point when I was growing up: don't make the same mistakes he made in life,” Saquon, who played college football at Penn State, told Lancaster Online.

“We must respect him as a man. Many people can't look their children in the face and tell them that the decisions they made were horrible and the mistakes they made were wrong. It helped me.

A representative for Saquon Barkley had no information about Thursday night's incident.

Alibay Barkley's next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday.